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electrical

Etymology and origin of the English word electrical

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1635
Ultimate origins
Latin (electricus)English (-al)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English electric
English electrical
English electricity

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪˈlɛktɹɪkəl/[1]

Etymology

It is from English electric + -al.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Giving off electricity when rubbed, as amber does: 1635 in the OED, the 1630s in Etymonline.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Relating to electricity or run by electricity, now the usual sense, is from 1746.[2][4] Skilled in the science of electricity was a rare sense of 1757,[4] and a figurative use, as of an electric atmosphere, is from 1775.[4] As a noun, electricals were shares in electrical companies, chiefly in Britain, from 1931, and electrical appliances or circuitry from 1976.[4]

Timeline

  • 1635 – producing electricity when rubbed.[4]
  • 1746 – relating to electricity.[2][4]
  • 1775 – figurative.[4]
  • 1931 – noun, electrical shares.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to or using electricity: electrical equipment.
  2. Concerned with electricity as a field of work: an electrical engineer.
  3. Exciting or tense, like electricity.

Word family

  • electrically
  • electrical engineering
  • electrical storm

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Electrical.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/electrical. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·